Call it what you will -- the downfall of pop music or its savior -- there's no denying that 'American Idol' is a fickle god-maker.

Some winners have found great success (hello, Kelly!), some have been dumped by their labels (so sorry, Ruben and Taylor), while some also-rans have gone on to bigger and better things.

We check in on 30 'AI' alums and fill you in on which ones are in trouble with the law, which are still giving it their best shot ... and which have fallen off the radar.

What exactly is 'Chris Daughtry-itis?' Does it involve a fever and a rash? Does it cause baldness? And most importantly, is it curable?

Simon Cowell complained in this week's Entertainment Weekly that the current batch of finalists just don't want to win badly enough. And this laid-back attitude is effecting their "A Game," or creating a lack thereof.

Simon said, "I think that we suffer from Jennifer Hudson- and Chris Daughtry-itis, which is people who didn't win getting great careers and now a lot of the contestants believing it absolutely doesn't matter."

Howard Cohen of MiamiHerald.com seems to think so. In today's post he points out that several AI finalists didn't take top prize, but the show still helped catapult them to success. Jennifer Hudson's Golden Globe win last night certainly puts her on the top of the list for "Most Successful Ex-American Idol Losers," well, at least for the time being.

People online has a nifty little photo-story updating us on some of our favorite American Idol contestants who didn't win the title. Here are a few:

• Diana DeGarmo: after spending the holidays entertaining the troops abroad, she's joining the cast of Hairspray on Broadway on February 7.
• Frenchie Davis: proving that racy photos on the internet aren't the end of all things, she's a cast member of Rent on Broadway, where she's been since she was prematurely booted off the show in 2003.
  
• William Hung: thinking he's entitled to more than 15 minutes of fame, he's still performing crap from his three, yes three, albums.
• Tamyra Gray: the one who should've gone against Kelly Clarkson in the finale, Tamyra is working on her second album and persuing more acting roles.
• Josh Gracin: lookin' a little thick around the middle, Josh just kicked off a tour where he is opening for Trace Adkins. He and his wife, Ann Marie, now have two children.
• Corey Clark: ah, who the hell cares?

The story also includes new photos and updates on Ruben Studdard, Jennifer Hudson, LaToya London, and Justin Guarini.